Department of Justice

United States Attorney William C. Killian Eastern District of Tennessee

David Eli Cramer Pleads Guilty to Attempted Child Sex Enticement

McMinnville Resident Traveled for Sex with Morristown Minor

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- David Eli Cramer, 50, of McMinnville, Tenn., pleaded guilty on May 1, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, to attempted enticement of a minor for illegal sexual activity.

Sentencing is set for November 19, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. Cramer faces a minimum term of 10 years and a maximum term of life in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000, a maximum of lifetime on supervised release, a mandatory assessment of $100, and restitution as ordered by the court.

Cramer sought sex with a minor and met an undercover Morristown Police Officer online posing as a 14-year-old girl who lived in Morristown. He scheduled their first meeting on February 14, 2012, in Morristown. He was arrested that day and charged via complaint. On March 2, 2012, he was indicted by a federal grand jury. He has remained in federal custody since his February arrest.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said,” We take the sexual exploitation of children very seriously. Thanks to the combined efforts of the various local and federal law enforcement agencies, we were able to achieve this conviction.”

This indictment was the result of an investigation by the Morristown Police Department, the Knoxville Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the McMinnville Police Department. Helen Smith, Assistant U.S. Attorney represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a Department initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information visit ProjectSafeChildhood.gov.